Technology brief on Software Defined Networks and their benefits for satellite operators and service providers

October 5, 2018

Following on from the recent announcement of support in our Q-NET satellite network solution for Software Defined Networks (SDNs), we are pleased to provide the following SDN technology background briefing document for the benefit of our users:

Over the past few years there has been a significant shift towards deploying SDNs in the terrestrial world and we are now starting to see signs of this interest transferring into the satellite arena. Our whitepaper provides an overview of SDNs, what they do and the benefits they bring.

In summary, as applied to satellite networks, SDN technology allows all devices in the network such as Ethernet switches and routers – but also including all the satellite modems - to be viewed and controlled using a common command protocol as part of a single all-encompassing centralised management system. This is in contrast to legacy networks that require the use of numerous proprietary management tools that cause the networks to become progressively more difficult to expand and manage. The SDN approach results in virtualisation of the underlying network infrastructure, the creation of a global view of the network and separation of high level network management functions from the low level routine operations of processing user traffic. This gives network operators and service providers vendor independence and the ability to provision new services simply since the network is inherently flexible and can therefore be adapted easily to meet new demands.

An overview of the Q-NET™ satellite network solution, including details of our support for Software Defined Networks, can be found here.